Broken but still Beautiful - October

 

Broken but Still Beautiful October   pencil on paper ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

Very broken but ohhhh so beautiful. For October's drawing I chose a fragment. Sometimes when I find these they are very fine and delicate at the edges of the outer surface but reveal a more sturdy columella. The whole of this small one was a little more robust and so made it home in my pocket without further damage.

This is posting a little late - I am behind after a fun filled half term with birthday celebrations. I'm not sure how my son can be 11 already but here we are.

Shades of Autumn II - Oak drypoint prints

 

Oak variable edition drypoint print 8x7.5cm available individually ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

I made a sister print to last weeks Acorns and have popped a couple of variations into both my Etsy and Folksy stores. I rather like working in this way and having colour variations. 

The one below is in Folksy.

Oak no.5 variable edition drypoint print 8x7.5cm available individually ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

I am still working on some larger drypoints of stormy skies and seas but having been rather enjoying the dry spells of sunny weather between the storms so progress has been slower. We have had lots of reference weather to help things along though....my gosh the rain! Obviously nothing compared to the weather some American friends seem to be enduring at the moment though, I do hope they manage to stay safe.

Shades of Autumn - Acorns drypoint prints

 

Acorns variable edition drypoint print 8x7.5cm available individually ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

Acorns that found their way into my pocket whilst out walking my dog. Each printed in a different autumnal shade and one in a soft warm charcoal black. I have two proof prints made whilst the plate was being tested for the edition which I may work into with mixed media at a later date. I have put a couple of the prints in both my Etsy and Folksy stores. 

I enjoyed printing the edition one print after another mixing the ink as I went adding to the colour left by the previous mix. I think I may do more of these with different motifs. It was nice to try something different. 

Acorns variable edition drypoint print 8x7.5cm available individually ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

Broken but still beautiful - August & September drawings

 

Broken but Still Beautiful August   pencil on paper ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

A little bit different to previous drawings again. August's model suggested line quality should be the focus and I thought 'who am I to argue?'...except argue I did as I wanted to add shadows to the form half way through and added hatching which would have been more sympathetic if I was using ink. I know, I know, I should have listened....it's a lesson I haven't learnt thus far....hey ho. Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn.

Broken but Still Beautiful September   pencil on paper ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

I think my listening skills improved this month as beautiful Dame September adorned with a patina of barnacles and sumptuous textures modelled some intriguing shapes and forms. I have a feeling that I will return to this specimen in the future as I enjoyed the interlocking shapes of the barnacles so much.

Fingers crossed the glitch in the comments is fixed. I'm not sure how or why but fingers crossed.

Emerging - Broken but Still Beautiful - June

 

Emerging   mixed media on paper 33x75cm   ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

A much bigger beauty for June, I felt like a larger scale and a bit of blue. I think it suits her - loud and proud.

Using a swordliner brush in the background for the sinuous lines that I feel echo both shell and the idea of water, it felt good to stretch a bit. I used a combination of watercolour, watersoluble pencils, gouache and acrylic ink to get the darkest darks. Back to pencil next month I think.

Emerging   mixed media   prints, stationery and accessories available at RedBubble   ©2024LisaLeQulenec

Spiral inspiration

 

Spiral inspiration from paper trimmings ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

Inspiration really is everywhere! Aren't these spirals just perfect. Trimmings from paintings I was getting ready to mount. I feel a new pattern coming on....

They remind me of Karl Blossfeldt photographs.

Broken but still beautiful V

 

Broken But Still Beautiful V

A little bit of a change this month - after starting out in pencil I thought this one was a dramatic enough shape to explore in ink with more extreme tonal contrasts. I quite like the stronger background. 

Stages of Broken But Still Beautiful V  A4-ish acrylic ink  ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

This month's model was acquired in Longniddry, Scotland. I was astonished at the size of the shells I found there. The majority of the whelks (and scallops) that I found there were at least twice/three times the size of the largest ones that I find along the South Coast (size comparison in the photo below). I collected a few beautifully broken ones and one with the most stunning 'pashmina' of barnacles. I will save this one for later in the year, maybe an extra large version when I can work outside... 

Whelks ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

Broken but Still Beautilful II & III

 

I neglected to post February's Broken but Still Beautiful drawing, time ran away with me again. So this month double bubble and two drawings to post!

Broken but Still Beautiful II   pencil on A4 paper   ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

The shell above I use often in flat lays when photographing my work for my shop. I love the elegant shape of the curves. It is also quite unusually pure white.

Broken but Still Beautiful III   pencil on A4 paper   ©2024LisaLeQuelenec

No.III is full of elegant curves too, I think this is why I am so attracted to drawing the broken bits of whelks. They are so sculptural and the forms make for dramatic tonal values.

Limpets in varied edition collagraph prints

 

Limpets   ©2021LisaLeQuelenec

 

 

At home in Jersey, I still call it home despite not having lived there for more than 25 years, limpet shells are very common due to the rocky coastline that is their habitat. In Bournemouth a lack of rockpools means that I don't see them washed up on the beaches. When I go back to visit I usually find a few have worked their way into my pockets. I'm not sure if it is because I am missing home (I'm wondering when it will feel safe to travel - I am cautious by nature) or because the broken shells that fascinate me remind me so much of the hag stones that I do find here in Bournemouth but I have been drawn to draw them. (See what I did there.)

 

Limpet shells and the collagraph plate that they inspired   ©2021LisaLeQuelenec

 

 

After sketching out a few plans in my sketchbook I decided to make a collagraph plate, I had just had an order delivered that had some fine carborundum grit in it amongst other things and was eager to test it out. Using mountboard as a plate, acrylic medium as an adhesive, the grit and some grout/tile adhesive I set to work. I'm not sure if in shows very well in the photo but once the plate was dry I scratched into it with a drypoint needle to add more linear elements.

Below are four of the prints in the small edition all inked up differently to each other.

Ensemble  (4 of the prints in a varied edition of 6)  collagraph   9.5x9.5cm   ©2021LisaLeQuelenec

I couldn't resist making some more plates below is another of them with the resulting prints. I have put some of the prints for sale in my Folksy  store.

Limpets shells and collagraph plate   ©2021LisaLeQuelenec

Stacked   varied edition collagraph   8x13cm    ©2021LisaLeQuelenec

At the end of all of this printing, I looked again at the plates. I kind of think they could be framed in their own right. I like looking at the worn down textures (worn by the press rather than by the sea) and the history of ink colour that has sunk into the grooves and the plate.

Collagraph plates and limpet shells   ©2021LisaLeQuelenec

Beach Treasures in mixed media

Beach Treasures   etching and mixed media    ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Following on from the etchings in last weeks post I couldn't resist playing with a set in coloured pencil. I have scanned them and made the available as cards and reproduction prints on Redbubble .

Beach treasures   etching and coloured pencil   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Beach treasures etchings and process

Sketches and preliminary sketchbook work for the Beach Treasures etching ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

I had begun to plan my most ambitious etching project to date some time ago. As always it started in my sketchbook and was a kind of continuation of the watercolour beach treasures collections to begin with I wasn't sure if the compositions were going to be in watercolour or print. I had even gotten as far as thinking about colour when I decided to go the etching route.

Concept sketch for Beach Treasures etching plates ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Refining the shapes and drawing for each plate took some time as I wanted to get the spacing and balance perfect for each individual plate and for it to work just as well as a triptych. Once that was done I was ready to make the plates and could easily transfer each outline onto the prepared zinc. Carefully I added in the hatching to render the form of the objects. There is a lovely parallel between the hardness of the shells and pebbles and the delicate marks they have and recreating it on a hard metal plate.

Once completed the plates are bathed in acid for the drawing to be eaten away giving a 'tooth' for the ink to settle in and imprint on the paper. After carefully cleaning away the rest of the ground (the substance used as a barrier to keep the acid from eating away at the metal where you don't want a mark) the plate is ready for inking.

The plates all ready for printing - Beach treasures ©2018LisaLeQueleenc

I have proofed the plates individually (made test prints) in both black and blue/black ink and am happy with the results. It really does pay for me to spend time in the preparation before starting the plate making.

The proof prints are both available mounted as you can see here at Seaside Studios UK on Etsy. Prints of individual plates are available on both Etsy and in my Folksy store.

Beach treasures I, II & III   original etchings, first artists proof prints mounted to 30x50cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Beach treasures I, II & III   original etchings, second artists proof prints mounted to 30x50cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Beach Treasures I, II & III   etchings 6.5x13.5cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Three Pebbles - proofing an etching plate and an experiment.

Two little pebble etching proof prints - trying out ideas for inking - both available on Folksy.

Three Pebbles   artist proof no.2  3x10cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Three Pebbles   artist proof no.3  3x10cm   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

....then a little experiment mixing printing techniques and adding drawing. The darker pebble shapes are the individual collagraph plates from a few posts back over-printed onto the etching. Another avenue of possibilities to explore.

Pebbles   etching, collagraph monoprint and watersoluble pencil   17x11.5cm ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Ebb and flow - collagraph and mixed media

Ebb & Flow   28x18cm collagraph collage and mixed media   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Following on from the Elemental triptych a couple more mixed media pieces. They have proved very difficult to photograph I'm not sure if it is a problem with my camera or just that it can't cope with the subtleties of texture and tone in the printed elements.

Edges, line, boundaries, balance and texture seem to be my focus at the moment. I think I need to spend some time drawing - thinking with a pencil (or whatever else comes to hand.....).

Ebb & Flow II   28x18cm collagraph collage and mixed media   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Hag stones - watercolour and collage

Hag stone sketch ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

Hag stones - stones with naturally occuring holes - are plentiful on the local beaches. Traditional folklore states that they are protection from witchcraft, can protect against disease and by looking through the hole you can see the fairy folk. Dorset fishermen used to tie them onto their boats for luck. I'm not so sure about that but I do find the spaces fascinating and when drawing them I am not sure if I am drawing the stone or the spaces inbetween. This little nugget was a sketch from the summer probably made in a couple of minutes and then forgotten about just as quickly. Until now....


 I started by cutting shapes from pre-painted and printed papers looking from patterns, marks and textures similar to the stones that I have collected. Then I began to play with arranging them on a plain white backing. Four little stacks resulted that are giving me lots of ideas for further work.

Four Pebble collages   approx 20x5cm mixed media   ©2018LisaLeQuelenec

Pebbles - watercolour studies

Pebble studies in watercolour   21x15cm approx   ©LisaLeQuelenec2017

There is something very comforting about a pebble warmed by the sun and held in the hand. I seem to collect pockets full of pebbles from all the different places I visit; picked for their colour, texture, pattern or weight. Quite often holding particular pebbles can transport me back to the landscape from where it came. Some of them appear to depict complete little landscapes within their markings. I have a bowl of them on my drawing table along with all the other bits and bobs picked up on my walks. The above watercolour studies are a few favourites recently gathered locally. The one below reminded me of an early O'Keefe watercolour.

Pebble study in watercolour   21x15cm approx   ©LisaLeQuelenec2017

I think I feel a new project coming on.....

A medley of work from the last few weeks....

A medley of work from the last few weeks ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

A virus has been keeping me away from work so I haven't progressed as far as I had hoped to with the gulls. I thought I would share a collection of some of the work that has been going on in the background whilst the gull experiments have been going on - all these pieces are available at SeasideStudiosUK

I'm not sure why a ball of string...it just looked like it needed to be drawn and one thing led to another...

String   drypoint 8.5x15cm   ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

Pine cones - it started with some sketches....

Pine cone sketches   pencil ink and watercolour   ©2017Lisa Le Quelenec

...and quickly got out of hand... but in a good way. I love the structure of pine cones, such a challenge to get 'right'. There is a park I visit with my little one that guarantees we will come home with at least a few we are both as bad as each other with our little collections and we added quite a few more this summer.

Sketches and doodles turned into...

Pine cone stages   watercolour on A4 paper   ©2017Lisa Le Quelenec

There are two paintings available to buy here at Seaside Studios UK.


But then that turned into....

From sketch to drypoint plate to prints   ©2017Lisa LeQuelenec

and now I have these....

Trio   artist proof 1 drypoint print 19x10cm   ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

Trio   artist proof 2 drypoint print image size19x10cm   ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

Trio   3/20 drypoint print image size19x10cm   ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

Trio   drypoint prints image size 19x10cm   ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

Which are also available at Seaside Studios UK and at Seaside Studios Uk on Folksy.


I do get myself in a pickle sometimes :o)

Three seaweed studies in watercolour

Three Seaweeds    each 30x21cm approx watercolour on paper   ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

The latest additions to my 'Little Treasures' series to add to the shells, feathers and other nature finds.

I love the colours, shapes and variety of seaweeds. These are painted from sketches that I did in Jersey and are seaweeds found in the rockpools there. Next time I must remember to collect some samples in jars for studying. I have collected them in the past and pressed them in sketchbook pages but they dry out and become brittle so quickly and it does make a change to paint from living samples. I really wanted to catch the sense of how they flow in the water in these studies.

These three seaweed studies are available at Seaside Studios UK on Etsy

Observational studies in watercolours - beach finds

Watercolour studies of beach treasures ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

Beach treasures collection IV  watercolour on paper 20x24cm approx   ©2017LisaLeQuelenec

No.4 has turned into a bit of a trial to photograph! Too much white and pale tones has made it difficult for the camera which just wants to emphasise the contrasts and not the subtleties. Hey ho...the picture above was taken at night using a desk lamp for light and is much closer to the painting.

I loved the marbling texture of the little piece of driftwood. It looks like a piece of old root that has been polished by the sea to a really smooth texture.




I seem to be finding lots of striped things at the moment; bits of pottery, striped pebbles and striped grain on driftwood.

Stripes from the shore sketchbook page ©2017LisaLeQuelenec